Between The Lines
by Twigglet25
Summary: Song-fic to Between the Lines by Sara Bareilles. Looking at Ron and Hermione's relationship over the years. Mostly from Hermione's POV.


My first song-fic! The song is Between the Lines by Sara Bareilles. Enjoy xx

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><p><em>Time to tell me the truth<em>

July 1997 – Hermione thought it was time to tell each other what they really thought. She looked back on the years that had just been one long game of cat and mouse. They could be dead soon, they should tell each other. But Hermione didn't have the courage, she supposed Ron didn't either.

_To burden your mouth for what you say_

"Viktor_?_ Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?"

"They might not count as clothes. They didn't look anything like hats to me, more like woolly bladders."

"It's pathetic. Well, I hope you enjoy your party. Why don't you try hooking up with McLaggen, then Slughorn can make you King and Queen Slug-"

"It's no wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare honestly."

"Hey Hermione, you're a girl!"

_No pieces of paper in the way_

November 1996 – 'I was nothing to him' thought Hermione as tears leaked out her eyes and into her pillow. Just the girl who would do his homework for him. ' She's everything I'm not' I was just the girl who hid behind paper, he would never have seen anything beyond that.

_'Cause I can't continue pretending to choose_

December 1995 – She wondered if he would ever ask. Her arm was actually beginning to hurt from writing such a long letter and she had run out of things to say a while a go. But she wanted to know Ron's reaction.

"Who're you writing that novel to, anyway?" he asked

Finally

"Victor."

"Krum!"

"How many other Victors do we know?"

He said nothing more, but seemed to look slightly put-out. But Hermione couldn't tell, she couldn't tell if he wanted to protect her or whether he was jealous or whether he still didn't like Victor because he was Harry's competition. She couldn't tell, and she wanted to, because she hated pretending to chose between Victor and Ron.

_These opposite sides on which we fall_

Cat and Rat

Blue and Orange

Smart and Stupid

Books and Quidditch

Stuck-up and laid-back

Head and Heart

That's what everyone else thought when they looked upon the pair of them. They fall on opposite sides. You couldn't get more different

_The loving you laters if at all_

"You're honestly the most wonderful person I've ever met Hermione"

"I love you, Hermione"

_No right minds could wrong, be this many times_

November 1997 – Wrong again. He'd left her and he wasn't coming back. Yet again she had tricked herself into believing they were on the same page, that he may feel the same way. But she was wrong. The brightest which of her age? No. She had been wrong to many times about him. Not bright at all, just a fool.

_My memory is cruel_

October 1991 - "It's no wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare honestly."

Hermione felt something break inside of her and the happiness she had felt moments before evaporated quicker than she could have thought possible. Her throat was constricting and Hermione realised she had to get out of here before she broke down, but it was to late, hot tears were already spilling out of her eyes as she shoved past everyone in front of her, finally she found the girls bathroom at the end of the corridor and rushed into a cubicle, slamming the door behind her. She turned her back to the door she had just shut and slid down it, tears coming thick and fast and sobs racking her body.

_I'm queen of attention to details_

"You're saying it wrong. It's Wing-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"How many times, you can't apparate in or out of the castle"

"Well honestly... 'the fates have informed her'... Who sets the exam? She does!"

_Defending intentions if he fails_

September 1996 - Cormac McLaggen had saved four out of four goals so far. If he saved five, Ron would feel under so much pressure she new he would mess up. Even though Quidditch stressed Ron out, Hermione new he had to make the team. To prove he could live up to his brothers, to Harry. Knowing the consequences of her actions but barely caring she raised her wand discreetly and pointed it at McLaggen

"_Confundus_" She whispered

_Until now, he told me her name_

_It sounded familiar in a way__  
><em>_That I could have sworn I'd heard him say it__  
><em>_Ten thousand times, oh, if only I had been listening_

November 1996 - Lavender Brown. Hermione had shared a dormitory with this girl for over five years of her life. She _liked _Lavender well enough. She could be annoying and shallow but there was nothing fundamentally _wrong _with her. Apart from she had been wrapped around Ron. Hermione had never felt jealously like this before, it tore at her insides and pounded through her head. Lavender Brown, he must have mentioned her in passing a thousand times with no hint of romance in his voice. But maybe Hermione hadn't been listening, maybe she had been so busy searching for signs that he liked her, she had missed that he in fact liked someone else. Lavender Brown.

_Leave unsaid, unspoken_

_Eyes wide shut, unopened_

April 1997 – There was no agreement, no 'I'm sorry' or any form of explanation. They left what wasn't being said behind, they felt no need to bring up the pain of the last five months, when at the moment they were revelling in the happiness of being friends again. It was forgotten that a near death experience was what had finally brought them back together. It didn't matter because as much as she had tried to squash her feelings, refuse to believe them herself and try to go on in her daily life ignoring them, her feelings couldn't go away. Because put simply, she loved this stupid idiot who lay on the hospital bed next to where she sat. She couldn't tell him, but she had finally admitted it to herself.

_You and me__, always, between the lines__  
><em>_Between the lines_

Friendship,Hatred,Love.

_I thought I, thought I was ready to bleed_

November 1997 – Someone was screaming his name. Screaming it with desperation, fear, anger and a hurt so deep it felt like it cut the skin. And it took Hermione a little while to realise it was her screaming his name. It was her who had fallen to her knees in the muddy ground, feet from where he had dissaperated, with the icy rain beating down on her so she was soaked to the bone. Her brain told her he had gone, but her heart told her he couldn't have. Ron wouldn't do that to her, so it was Hermione's heart that made her carry on screaming his name into the wind. Until tears racked her body so hard she could no longer yell and she got to her feet and made her way back to the tent.

_That we'd move from the shadows on the wall_

July 1992 – "You drink that. No listen – get back and get Ron – grab brooms from the flying–key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy – go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore….."

Hermione listened as Harry reeled of instructions for her, amazed at his bravery. He was willing to go and face you-know-who himself, an eleven year old boy. She couldn't believe how courageous he was being. Her input tonight paled in comparison to what Harry was volunteering to do now.

_Stand in the centre of it all_

July 1997 – "We'll be there, Harry," Said Ron

"What?"

"At your aunt and uncles house, and then we'll go with you, wherever you're going."

"No – "

A memory floated into a Hermione's brain, an eleven year old Harry standing under the cloak with Ron and her. Looking at the door to the third floor corridor. 'If you want to go back, I won't blame you. You can take the cloak, I won't need it now.'

"You said to us once before," Said Hermione quietly, "That there was still time to turn back if we wanted to. We've had time, haven't we?"

"We're with you whatever happens," Said Ron

_Too late, two choices, to stay or to leave_

November 1997 – "What are you doing?" Said Ron, panting from yelling

"What do you mean?"

"Are you staying, or what?"

Hermione couldn't believe what Ron was asking her. She couldn't understand the look on Ron's face, his normally smirking mouth had been replaced by and thin line of anger and his normally calm blue eyes had been replaced by dark blue thunderous ones. Ones that held no emotion but anger. Hermione was scared; she couldn't see Ron through those eyes.

"I….Yes – yes, I'm staying. Ron we said we'd go with Harry, we said we'd help…."

"I get it. You chose him."

_Mine was so easy to uncover_

August 1996 – "Hermione?" Ginny asked through the darkness of her bedroom.

Hermione jumped slightly, she thought Ginny was asleep.

"Yes" She answered back quietly.

Ginny was silent for a while, she seemed to be contemplating what she was going to say next. Finally she spoke again.

"When are you going to tell him?"

"Tell who what?" Asked a bewildered Hermione

"Tell my stupid brother that you're in love with him," Ginny said flatly

Hermione was silent for a long time, angry at what Ginny had said, finally she said quietly.

"I'm not in love with him,"

Ginny snorted, "Ok fine, I won't push it, just come to me when you've finally admitted it to yourself, because I know you are."

_He'd already left with the other_

November 1996 – The sickening thing was, she had actually asked him to go to Slughorn's party with her, without specifying whether as friends or not. And he had said yes! She'd wanted to invite him, her head said as a friend whilst her heart said as more. When she hadn't actually admitted which, she thought she would see what would happen at the party. That couldn't happen anymore, because he had left, left her, he'd chosen Lavender.

_So I learned to listen through silence_

At first their silent conversations were simple. Shakes and nods of head and raised eyebrows meaning 'really?' But as they got older, they got better and better at it, Hermione didn't know how, and she never really concentrated on it either, it was just something they could do. By the time they were in the tent, they could almost have a whole conversation just by looking at each other, listening to each other through the silence.

_Leave unsaid, unspoken__  
><em>_Eyes wide shut, unopened_

June 1993 – Hermione felt her arms hit the bed with a thump. She ached all over; it wasn't painful, just uncomfortable. She wondered why, then a memory came to her like a bolt of lightning, a huge pair of bulbous yellow eyes, reflected in a piece of glass. She yelled out loud and sat up quickly, causing her to have a terrible head-rush, meaning she couldn't see anything for a few seconds.

"Miss Granger, it's alright, your safe," said a kind voice.

Hermione turned her head to see it was Madam Pomfrey, who was setting up pillows so that Hermione couldn't sit semi-upright comfortably.

"Was I petrified?" asked Hermione faintly

"Yes how did you…." Madam Pomfrey trailed off, then looked up at her sharply "That's why you had the mirror, you knew if you didn't look directly at the monster you wouldn't die!"

Hermione didn't see any point denying it so nodded. Madam Pomfrey huffed whilst she checked Hermione over quickly, then as she went to walk away she said quietly.

"You have some very good friends Miss Granger. Mr Potter and Mr Weasley were most upset at you being petrified, they tried to come and see you all the time but visitors have been banned. They've been very distressed.

_You and me__, always be__  
><em>_You and me, always be__  
><em>

Friendship,Hatred,Love.

_I tell myself all the words he surely meant to say_

December 1997 – She knew that she was torturing herself, but she just couldn't stop. Some of the scenes she created in her head were ludicrous, like if he had kissed her at the wedding. Some she would trick herself into believing were true at night, like him returning full of apology's and explanations. Those were the ones that hurt the most because when she woke up, it would come crashing down on her all over again that he was really gone and he obviously did not want to return. Most of the time she would just hear his voice in her head, laughing at something she had seen or adding a funny comment to something Harry said. He was like a presence, keeping her company whilst she kept watch on her own. But it tore at her heart a little bit more every time she realised that it wasn't really Ron, just a figment of her imagination.

_I'll talk until the conversation doesn't stay on_

It was mostly Hermione who started the conversations. When they would play chess or as they walked in between lessons. She would often try to cheer him up when he was in a bad mood in the evenings by chattering away about mundane things. Sometimes it worked, a lot of the time it just annoyed him further.

_Wait for me, I'm almost ready when he meant let go_

October 1996 – There, it was out there. She hadn't said 'I love you' or something stupid like that, but she had gotten up enough courage to ask him to Slughorn's Christmas party. Whether he took it to mean as friends or more was up to him, it was out of her hands now.

November 1996 – He meant as friends, that much was obvious now.

_Leave unsaid, unspoken__  
><em>_Eyes wide shut, unopened_

July 1992 – They never admitted how proud they were of what the other had done, they just said a quick 'you were really brave'. That was all.

July 1993 – Ron never admitted how upset he had been by Hermione being petrified and he never admitted how relieved he was to see that she was alright. He just said a quick 'I'm glad you're back'. That was all.

July 1994 – Hermione never admitted how scared she had been when she had heard that Sirius Black had almost killed Ron. So scared that she had cried the night she heard, imagining that he had died whilst they were still arguing. All she said when they made friends again was 'Ron, I'm really sorry about Scabbers," That was all.

July 1995 – Neither of them talked about what had happened this year. They left all the jealousy, hurt and anger at Cedric's memorial. All Hermione did was give Ron a quick kiss on the cheek as they said goodbye. That was all.

July 1996 – Ron never admitted that he had fallen in love with Hermione Granger, he had admitted it to himself, sure, but never to her or anyone else. All he did was save up his money to buy her perfume at Christmas and let her fall asleep on his shoulder on the train ride home. That was all.

July 1997 – Hermione never admitted to Ron that she had fallen in love with him. She had finally admitted it to herself after a year and a half of denial, then she had finally admitted it to Ginny after her insistent pestering. All she did was fall into his arms at Dumbledore's funeral, not caring what anybody thought and let him hold her whilst she sobbed. That was all.

April 1998 – Neither of them admitted the fear they had felt at Malfoy Manor and neither of them had admitted all of the emotions from the past months. But for some reason they didn't need to, they left it unspoken, because they understood now, they were just waiting for an opportunity to admit that.

_You and me always be_

Friendship,

You and me always between the lines

Hatred,_  
><em>

_Between the lines__._

Love.

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><p>Hi guys. I hope you liked this. It has been in planning ever since i heard the song, because it just fit so freakishly well. I spent a hell of a lot of time over this so would be really pleased if you reviewed. Also feel free to give constructive criticism over how to improve for future song-fics as I really enjoy doing them! Thanks for reading.<p>

Hannah x


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